Method and apparatus for estimating state of battery

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a battery state estimation method and apparatus, the method including selecting sensing data of a portion of batteries, transmitting the selected sensing data to at least one estimator among estimators, transmitting sensing data of a remaining portion of the batteries to a remaining estimator among the estimators, and determining state information of the batteries using the estimators.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of Ser. No. 16/182,978 filed Nov. 7,2018 which claims the benefit under 35 USC § 119(a) of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2017-0173823 filed on Dec. 18, 2017 and ApplicationNo. 10-2018-0117767 filed on Oct. 2, 2018 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated hereinby reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The following description relates to battery state estimation.

2. Description of Related Art

A state of a battery may be estimated using various methods. Forexample, the state of the battery may be estimated through a coulombcounting or using a battery model such as, for example, an electricalcircuit model and an electrochemical model.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

In one general aspect, there is provided a method of estimating a stateof a battery, the method including classifying batteries into at leastone battery and remaining batteries, determining state information ofthe at least one battery during a first switching period among switchingperiods based on sensing data of the at least one battery during thefirst switching period and a first battery model, determining stateinformation of the at least one battery during a second switching periodamong the switching periods, based on sensing data of the at least onebattery during the second switching period and the first battery model,classifying the remaining batteries into a first target battery and afirst non-target battery in the first switching period, determiningstate information of the first target battery during the first switchingperiod based on sensing data of the target battery during the firstswitching period and a second battery model, determining stateinformation of the first non-target battery in the first switchingperiod based on a first state change amount of the non-target batteryduring the first switching period, classifying the remaining batteriesinto a second target battery and a second non-target battery in thesecond switching period, wherein the first target battery is the secondnon-target battery of the second switching period and the firstnon-target battery is the second target battery of the second switchingperiod, determining state information of the second target battery basedon sensing data of the second target battery during the second switchingperiod and the second battery model, and determining state informationof the second non-target battery based on a second state change amountof the second non-target battery in the second switching period.

The state information may be a state of charge (SOC).

Each of the first battery model and the second battery model may be anelectrochemical model.

The at least one battery may include two batteries.

The two batteries may be a maximum SOC battery and a minimum SOCbattery.

The first state change amount and the second state change amount maycorrespond to a state information change amount of the at least onebattery for each of the respective switching periods or a stateinformation change amount obtained through a coulomb counting for eachof the respective switching periods.

The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the state informationof the first target battery during the first switching period mayinclude

correcting the state information of the first target battery during thefirst switching period.

The determining of the state information of the second target batteryduring the second switching period may include correcting the stateinformation of the second target battery during the second switchingperiod.

In another general aspect, there is provided an apparatus for estimatinga state of a battery, the apparatus including a controller configured toclassify batteries into at least one battery and remaining batteries,determine state information of the at least one battery during a firstswitching period among switching periods based on sensing data of the atleast one battery during the first switching period and a first batterymodel, determine state information of the at least one battery during asecond switching period among the switching periods, based on sensingdata during the at least one battery of the second switching period andthe first battery model, classify the remaining batteries into a firsttarget battery and a first non-target battery in the first switchingperiod, determine state information of the first target battery duringthe first switching period based on sensing data during the targetbattery of the first switching period and a second battery model,determine state information of the first non-target battery in the firstswitching period based on a first state change amount of the non-targetbattery during the first switching period, classify the remainingbatteries into a second target battery and a second non-target batteryin the second switching period, wherein the first target battery is thesecond non-target battery of the second switching period and the firstnon-target battery is the second target battery of the second switchingperiod, determine state information of the second target battery basedon sensing data of the second target battery during the second switchingperiod and the second battery model, and determine state information ofthe second non-target battery based on a second state change amount ofthe second non-target battery in the second switching period.

The state information may be a state of charge (SOC).

The first battery model and the second battery model may be anelectrochemical model.

The at least one battery may include two batteries.

The two batteries may be a maximum SOC battery and a minimum SOCbattery.

The first state change amount and the second state change amount maycorrespond to a state information change amount of the at least onebattery for each of the respective switching periods or a stateinformation change amount obtained through a coulomb counting for eachof the respective switching periods.

The controller may be configured to correct the state information of thefirst target battery during the first switching period.

The controller may be configured to correct the second state informationof the second target battery during the second switching period.

In another general aspect, there is provided an apparatus for estimatinga state of a battery, the apparatus including a sensor configured tosense data corresponding to batteries of a battery pack in an updateperiod, a head-up display (HUD), and a processor comprising a comparatorconfigured to determine, in another update period prior to the updateperiod, a maximum battery of the batteries having a maximum stateinformation and a minimum battery of the batteries having a minimumstate information, a selector configured to selectively transmit thedata corresponding to each battery of the battery pack to a plurality ofestimators, a first estimator of the plurality of estimators beingconfigured to determine state information of the maximum battery basedon sensing data of the maximum battery and a first battery model, asecond estimator of the plurality of estimators being configured todetermine state information of the minimum battery based on sensing dataof the minimum battery and a second battery model, a third estimator ofthe plurality of estimators being configured to select, in a switchingperiod of the update period, a target battery from remaining batteries,the remaining batteries being the batteries other than the maximumbattery and the maximum battery, determine, in the switching period,state information of the target battery based on sensing data of thetarget battery and a third battery model, and determine, in theswitching period, state information of the remaining batteries otherthan the target battery based on state information of the remainingbatteries other than the target battery for another switching periodthat is prior to the switching period and a state change amount, whereinthe processor is configured to output the state information of themaximum battery, the state information of the minimum battery, the stateinformation of the maximum battery, and the state information ofremaining batteries through the head-up display (HUD).

The state change amount may include any one, any combination, or anaverage of a state change amount obtained through a coulomb counting forthe switching period, a state change amount of the maximum battery forthe switching period, and a state change amount of the minimum batteryfor the switching period.

The third estimator is further configured to select, other than thetarget battery, another target battery from the remaining batteries inother switching periods of the update periods.

Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detaileddescription, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a battery device.

FIGS. 2 through 6 illustrate examples of an operation of a battery stateestimation apparatus.

FIGS. 7 through 10 illustrate examples of a switching order.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a battery state estimation method.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a battery state estimation apparatus.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a vehicle.

Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwisedescribed or provided, the same drawing reference numerals will beunderstood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. Thedrawings may not be to scale, and the relative size, proportions, anddepiction of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity,illustration, and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader ingaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses,and/or systems described herein. However, various changes,modifications, and equivalents of the methods, apparatuses, and/orsystems described herein will be apparent after an understanding of thedisclosure of this application. For example, the sequences of operationsdescribed herein are merely examples, and are not limited to those setforth herein, but may be changed as will be apparent after anunderstanding of the disclosure of this application, with the exceptionof operations necessarily occurring in a certain order. Also,descriptions of features that are known in the art may be omitted forincreased clarity and conciseness.

The features described herein may be embodied in different forms, andare not to be construed as being limited to the examples describedherein. Rather, the examples described herein have been provided merelyto illustrate some of the many possible ways of implementing themethods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein that will beapparent after an understanding of the disclosure of this application.

The terminology used herein is for describing various examples only, andis not to be used to limit the disclosure. The articles “a,” “an,” and“the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise.

Regarding the reference numerals assigned to the elements in thedrawings, it should be noted that the same elements will be designatedby the same reference numerals, wherever possible, even though they areshown in different drawings. Also, detailed description of well-knownrelated structures or functions will be omitted when it is deemed thatsuch description will unnecessarily hinder understanding of structuresor operations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a battery device 100.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a battery device 100 includes batteries 110-1through 110-n and a battery state estimation apparatus 120.

Each of the batteries 110-1 through 110-n indicates, for example, abattery cell, a battery module, and a battery pack.

The battery state estimation apparatus 120 collects sensing data of eachof the batteries 110-1 through 110-n by sensing each of the batteries110-1 through 110-n using one or more sensors. The sensing dataincludes, for example, any one or any combination of voltage data,current data, and temperature data, but not be limited to the example.

The battery state estimation apparatus 120 determines state informationof each of the batteries 110-1 through 110-n. The state informationincludes, for example, a state of charge (SOC) and a state of health(SOH). Hereinafter, examples of the battery state estimation apparatus120 determining state information of the batteries 110-1 through 110-nwill be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 through 6 .

FIGS. 2 through 6 illustrate examples of an operation of a battery stateestimation apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the battery state estimation apparatus 120includes a selector 210, a first estimator 220, a second estimator 230,a third estimator 240, and a comparator 250.

The selector 210 transmits sensing data of the batteries 110-1 through110-n to the first estimator 220, the second estimator 230, and thethird estimator 240. In an N^(th) update period, the selector 210selects sensing data of a maximum battery and transmits the sensing datato the first estimator 220, selects sensing data of a minimum batteryand transmits the sensing data to the second estimator 230, andtransmits sensing data of a remaining battery, other than the maximumbattery and the minimum battery, to the third estimator 240. The maximumbattery and the minimum battery are determined by the comparator 250 ina previous update period of the N^(th) update periods. A battery havinga maximum value of final state information of the batteries 110-1through 110-n for the previous update period corresponds to the maximumbattery and a battery having a minimum value thereof corresponds to theminimum battery.

The first estimator 220 determines state information of the maximumbattery, which was determined by the comparator 250, based on thesensing data of the maximum battery. In the N^(th) update period, thefirst estimator 220 determines the state information of the maximumbattery based on the sensing data of the maximum battery and a firstbattery model. The first estimator 220 transmits final state informationof the maximum battery obtained in the N^(th) update period to thecomparator 250.

The second estimator 230 determines state information of the minimumbattery, which was determined by the comparator 250, based on thesensing data of the minimum battery. In the N^(th) update period, thesecond estimator 230 determines the state information of the minimumbattery based on the sensing data of the minimum battery and a secondbattery model. The second estimator 230 transmits final stateinformation of the minimum battery obtained in the N^(th) update periodto the comparator 250.

The third estimator 240 determines state information of remainingbatteries of the batteries 110-1 through 110-n, other than the maximumbattery and the minimum battery. In the N^(th) update period, the thirdestimator 240 selects a target battery for each of the switchingperiods. An unselected battery of the corresponding switching period isreferred to as a non-target battery. In each of the switching periods,the third estimator 240 determines state information of a target batteryof the corresponding switching period using sensing data of the targetbattery and a third battery model. State information of the non-targetbattery in each of the switching periods is determined based on stateinformation of the non-target battery for a previous switching periodand a state change amount for the corresponding switching period. Thestate change amount corresponds to, for example, any one or an averageof any combination of a state change amount obtained through a coulombcounting for the corresponding switching period, a state change amountof the maximum battery for the corresponding switching period, and astate change amount of the minimum battery for the correspondingswitching period. The state change amount will be further describedlater.

The third estimator 240 uses a third battery model when determining thestate information of the target battery. The target battery alsoindicates, for example, a battery of which state information isdetermined using the third battery model in a switching period, thebattery being included in the remaining batteries other than the maximumbattery and minimum battery. The third estimator 240 does not use thethird battery model when determining the state information of thenon-target battery. The third estimator 240 transmits final stateinformation of the remaining batteries obtained in the N^(th) updateperiod to the comparator 250.

The first battery model, the second battery model, and the third batterymodel are, for example, an electrical circuit model and anelectrochemical model, but not be limited thereto.

The third estimator 240 includes a single battery model, for example,the third battery model. Depending on an example, when a number of thebatteries 110-1 through 110-n exceeds a threshold, for example, 20, thethird estimator 240 may also include more than one battery model.

The comparator 250 compares the final state information of the batteries110-1 through 110-n and determines the maximum battery and the minimumbattery again based on a result of the comparison.

Hereinafter, the selector 210, the first estimator 220, the secondestimator 230, and the third estimator 240, and the comparator 250operating in the N^(th) update period will be further described withreference to FIGS. 3 through 6 .

In an example of FIG. 3 , among batteries 1 through 12, the battery 1 isa maximum battery and the battery 5 is a minimum battery. In thisexample, the first estimator 220 receives sensing data of the battery 1from the selector 210 in an N^(th) update period. Also, the secondestimator 230 receives sensing data of the battery 5 from the selector210 in the N^(th) update period. For example, SOC_(N−1) #1, SOC_(N−1)#2, . . . , SOC_(N−1) #12 are state information of the batteries 1through 12 for an (N−1)^(th) update period. When SOC_(N−1) #1 is amaximum value and SOC_(N−1) #5 is a minimum value among the stateinformation, the comparator 250 determines the battery 1 to be themaximum battery of the N^(th) update period, determines the battery 5 tobe the minimum battery of the N^(th) update period, and transmitsidentification information “1” of the battery 1 and identificationinformation “5” of the battery 5 to the selector 210. When the(N−1)^(th) update period ends and the N^(th) update period starts, theselector 210 transmits the sensing data of the battery 1 to the firstestimator 220 and transmits the sensing data of the battery 5 to thesecond estimator 230.

The third estimator 240 receives sensing data of remaining batteries,for example, the batteries 2 through 4 and 6 through 12, among thebatteries 1 through 12 other than the batteries 1 and 5 from theselector 210 in the N^(th) update period.

The first estimator 220 determines the state information of the battery1, SOC_(N_1) #1 using the sensing data of the battery 1 and a firstbattery model in a 1^(st) switching period of the N^(th) update period.SOC_(N_1) #1 corresponds to a result of a calculation performed by thefirst battery model using the sensing data of the battery 1. InSOC_(N_1) #1, the subscript N denotes the N^(th) update period, thesubscript 1 denotes the 1^(st) switching period, and #1 denotes thebattery 1.

The second estimator 230 determines the state information of the battery5, SOC_(N_1) #5 using the sensing data of the battery 5 and a secondbattery model in the 1^(st) switching period of the N^(th) updateperiod. SOC_(N_1) #5 corresponds to a result of a calculation performedby the second battery model using the sensing data of the battery 5.

The third estimator 240 selects the battery 2 as a target battery of the1^(st) switching period of the N^(th) update period based on a switchingorder of the remaining batteries, other than the batteries 1 and 5. Theswitching order will be further described with reference to FIG. 7 . Inthe 1^(st) switching period, the batteries 3, 4 and 6 through 12correspond to non-target batteries.

The third estimator 240 determines state information of the targetbattery for the 1^(st) switching period. The third estimator 240extracts sensing data corresponding to the 1^(st) switching period fromsensing data of the battery 2 and determines state information of thebattery 2 for the 1^(st) switching period, α₁ using the extractedsensing data and a third battery model. α₁ corresponds to a result of acalculation performed by the third battery model using the extractedsensing data.

The third estimator 240 determines state information of a non-targetbattery for the 1^(st) switching period. The third estimator 240calculates a state change amount Δ₁ for the 1^(st) switching period. Inan example, the third estimator 240 determines the state information ofthe non-target battery based on the state change amount Δ₁ and finalstate information of the non-target battery obtained in the (N−1)^(th)update period. The state change amount Δ₁ is, for example, any one or anaverage of any combination of ΔSOC_(coulomb counting) that is a statechange amount obtained through a coulomb counting for the 1^(st)switching period, ΔSOC_(N_1) #1 that is a state information changeamount of the battery 1 for the 1^(st) switching period, and ΔSOC_(N_1)#5 that is a state information change amount of the battery 5 for the1^(st) switching period. ΔSOC_(coulomb counting) will be furtherdescribed later.

The third estimator 240 obtains SOC_(N−1) #3+A₁ by adding the statechange amount Δ₁ to final state information of the battery 3 for the(N−1)^(th) update period, SOC_(N−1) #3, and determines SOC_(N−1) #3+A₁to be state information of the battery 3 for the 1 switching period.

Likewise, the third estimator 240 determines state information ofremaining non-target batteries for the 1^(st) switching period by addingthe state change amount Δ₁ to state information of the remainingnon-target batteries for the (N−1)^(th) update period.

Table 1 shows an example of state information of the batteries 1 through12 for the 1^(st) switching period.

TABLE 1 Battery State information Battery 1 SOC_(N)_1 #1 Battery 2 α₁Battery 3 SOC_(N−1) #3 + Δ₁ Battery 4 SOC_(N−1) #4 + Δ₁ Battery 5SOC_(N)_1 #5 Battery 6 SOC_(N−1) #6 + Δ₁ Battery 7 SOC_(N−1) #7 + Δ₁Battery 8 SOC_(N−1) #8 + Δ₁ Battery 9 SOC_(N−1) #9 + Δ₁ Battery 10SOC_(N−1) #10 + Δ₁ Battery 11 SOC_(N−1) #11 + Δ₁ Battery 12 SOC_(N−1)#12 + Δ₁

ΔSOC_(coulomb counting) included in the state change amount Δ₁ iscalculated using Equation 1.

$\begin{matrix}{{\Delta\;{SOC}_{{coulomb}\mspace{14mu}{counting}}} = \frac{{\int_{t_{1}}^{t_{2}}{I\;{dt}}}\ }{{reference}\mspace{14mu}{capacity}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 1, t₁ denotes a starting point in time of the 1^(st)switching period, t₂ denotes an ending point in time of the 1^(st)switching period, reference capacity is a preset value and represents atotal capacity of a battery of the same type as the batteries 1 through12, and I denotes currents of the batteries 1 through 12. When thebatteries 1 through 12 are connected in series, the same current flowsin the batteries 1 through 12. For this reason, as shown in Table 1, thethird estimator 240 uses the same ΔSOC_(coulomb counting) to determinethe state information of the batteries 3, 4 and 6 through 12. Forexample, the batteries 1 through 12 may be connected in parallel. Inthis example, when different currents flow in the batteries 1 through12, the third estimator 240 calculates state change amounts of thebatteries 3, 4 and 6 through 12 due to the coulomb counting based on thereference capacity and current sensing results of the batteries 3, 4 and6 through 12 for the 1^(st) switching period. Here, instead of each ofthe current sensing results for the 1^(st) switching period, a valueobtained by dividing an amount of current flowing in the batteries 1through 12 connected in parallel for the 1^(st) switching period by anumber of batteries, for example, an average current amount may be used.When the current sensing results for the 1^(st) switching period areabsent, the average current amount is used to calculate the state changeamounts of the batteries 3, 4 and 6 through 12 due to the coulombcounting. The third estimator 240 determines the state information ofthe batteries 3, 4 and 6 through 12 for the 1^(st) switching period byadding the state change mounts of the batteries 3, 4 and 6 through 12due to the coulomb counting to state information of the batteries 3, 4and 6 through 12 for the (N−1)^(th) update period.

Referring to FIG. 4 , in a 2^(nd) switching period, the first estimator220 determines state information of the battery 1, SOC_(N_2) #1 usingsensing data of the battery 1 and a first battery model. Also, thesecond estimator 230 determines state information of the battery 5,SOC_(N_2) #5 using sensing data of the battery 5 and a second batterymodel in the 2^(nd) switching period. In the N^(th) update period, thefirst estimator 220 determines the state information of the battery 1and the second estimator 230 determines the state information of thebattery 5.

The third estimator 240 selects the battery 3 as a target battery of the2^(nd) switching period based on a switching order. In the 2^(nd)switching period, among the remaining batteries other than the batteries1 and 5, the batteries 2, 4 and 6 through 12 correspond to non-targetbatteries. In an example, the battery 2 which is selected as the targetbattery in the 1^(st) switching period corresponds to a non-targetbattery in other switching periods.

The third estimator 240 extracts sensing data corresponding to the2^(nd) switching period from sensing data of the battery 3 anddetermines state information of the battery 3 for the 2^(nd) switchingperiod, α₂ using the extracted sensing data and a third battery model.

The third estimator 240 inputs the extracted sensing data to the thirdbattery model. The third battery model acquires the state information ofthe battery 3 for the 2^(nd) switching period from input data andoutputs the acquired state information. In an example, the thirdestimator 240 corrects α₂.

With reference to FIG. 5 , the correction is done because a targetbattery is switched from the battery 2 to the battery 3 in 2^(nd)switching period. Thus, the third battery model receives sensing data ofthe battery 3 instead of sensing data of the battery 2. A discontinuityoccurs between input data 510 and input data 520 of the third batterymodel at a switching point in time. When the third battery model outputsthe state information acquired from the input data 520 with thediscontinuity, an output of the third battery model is discontinuous atthe switching point in time as shown in a graph 530. The third estimator240 corrects the output of the third battery model for each of theswitching periods using a correction model or a filter, such as, forexample, a Kalman filter. The corrected output is continuous as shown ina graph 540. Depending on an example, the third battery model may have acorrecting function, so that an output of the third battery model iscontinuous as represented by the graph 540.

Referring back to FIG. 4 , the third estimator 240 calculates a statechange amount Δ₂ for the 2^(nd) switching period. The description of thestate change amount Δ₁ is also applicable to the state change amount Δ₂and are incorporated herein by reference. Thus, the above descriptionmay not be repeated here. The third estimator 240 determines the stateinformation of the non-target battery of the 2^(nd) switching periodbased on the state change amount Δ₂ and state information of thenon-target battery, for example, the batteries 2, 4 and 6 through 12 fora switching period that is prior to the 2^(nd) switching period. Thethird estimator 240 determines state information of the battery 2 byadding the state change mount Δ₂ to α₁ that is the state information ofthe battery 2 for the 1^(st) switching period. Also, the third estimator240 determines state information of the battery 4 by adding the statechange amount Δ₂ to state information of the battery 4 for the 1^(st)switching period, SOC_(N−1) #4+Δ₁. Likewise, the third estimator 240determines state information of the batteries 6 through 12 for the2^(nd) switching period. Table 2 shows an example of state informationof the batteries 1 through 12 for the 2^(nd) switching period.

TABLE 2 Battery State information Battery 1 SOC_(N)_2 #1 Battery 2 α₁ +Δ₂ Battery 3 α₂ Battery 4 SOC_(N−1) #4 + Δ₁ + Δ₂ Battery 5 SOC_(N)_2 #5Battery 6 SOC_(N−1) #6 + Δ₁ + Δ₂ Battery 7 SOC_(N−1) #7 + Δ₁ + Δ₂Battery 8 SOC_(N−1) #8 + Δ₁ + Δ₂ Battery 9 SOC_(N−1) #9 + Δ₁ + Δ₂Battery 10 SOC_(N−1) #10 + Δ₁ + Δ₂ Battery 11 SOC_(N−1) #11 + Δ₁ + Δ₂Battery 12 SOC_(N−1) #12 + Δ₁ + Δ₂

In each of remaining switching periods of the N^(th) update period, thefirst estimator 220, the second estimator 230, and the third estimator240 operate as described with reference to FIGS. 3 through 5 .

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the results of the operation of firstestimator 220, the second estimator 230, and the third estimator 240 forthe N^(th) update period. Referring to FIG. 6 , the first estimator 220determines state information of the battery 1 using sensing data of thebattery 1 and a first battery model in overall switching periods. Thesecond estimator 230 determines state information of the battery 5 usingsensing data of the battery 5 and a second battery model in the overallswitching periods. An output SOC_(N) #1 of the first estimator 220corresponds to final state information of the battery 1 determined inthe N^(th) update period. An output SOC_(N) #5 of the second estimator230 corresponds to final state information of the battery 5 determinedin the N^(th) update period.

The third estimator 240 determines state information of a target batteryfor each of the switching periods of the N^(th) update period based onsensing data of the target battery of the corresponding switching periodand a third battery model. Also, the third estimator 240 determinesstate information of a non-target battery for each of the switchingperiods of the N^(th) update period based on state information of thenon-target battery for a previous switching period and a state changeamount of the non-target battery for the corresponding switching period.For example, the third estimator 240 determines state information of thebattery 12 which is a target battery of a last switching period based onsensing data of the battery 12 for the last switching period and thethird battery model. Also, the third estimator 240 determines stateinformation of the battery 2 for the last switching period by adding astate change amount Δ₁₀ of the battery 2 for the last switching periodto “α₁+Δ₂+Δ₃+ . . . +Δ₉” that is state information of the battery 2 fora 9^(th) switching period.

Table 3 shows an example of final state information of the batteries 1through 12 determined in the N^(th) update period.

TABLE 3 Battery Final state information Battery 1 SOC_(N) #1 Battery 2SOC_(N) #2 = α₁ + Δ₂ + Δ₃ + . . . + Δ₁₀ Battery 3 SOC_(N) #3 = α₂ + Δ₃ +. . . + Δ₁₀ Battery 4 SOC_(N) #4 = α₃ + Δ₄ + . . . + Δ₁₀ Battery 5SOC_(N) #5 Battery 6 SOC_(N) #6 = α₄ + Δ₅ + . . . + Δ₁₀ Battery 7SOC_(N) #7 = α₅ + Δ₆ + . . . + Δ₁₀ Battery 8 SOC_(N) #8 = α₆ + Δ₇ + . .. + Δ₁₀ Battery 9 SOC_(N) #9 = α₇ + Δ₈ + Δ₉ + Δ₁₀ Battery 10 SOC_(N) #10= α₈ + Δ₉ + Δ₁₀ Battery 11 SOC_(N) #11 = α₉ + Δ₁₀ Battery 12 SOC_(N) #12= α₁₀

The comparator 250 receives SOC_(N) #1, . . . , SOC_(N) #12 from thefirst estimator 220, the second estimator 230, and the third estimator240. In another iteration, the comparator 250 determines a maximumbattery and/or a minimum battery based on SOC_(N) #1, . . . , SOC_(N)#12. In an example, where SOC_(N) #3 is a maximum value and SOC_(N) #8is a minimum value, the comparator 250 determines the battery 3 to bethe maximum battery and determines the battery 8 to be the minimumbattery.

The comparator 250 transmits information on the maximum battery and/orthe minimum battery to the selector 210. The comparator 250 transmitsidentification information “3” of the battery 3 and identificationinformation “8” of the battery 8 to the selector 210. In an (N+1)^(th)update period, the selector 210 inputs the sensing data of the battery 3to the first estimator 220, inputs the sensing data of the battery 8 tothe second estimator 230, and inputs sensing data of remaining batteriesamong the batteries 1 through 12, other than the batteries 3 and 8, tothe third estimator 240. The description of the operation performed bythe first estimator 220, the second estimator 230, and the thirdestimator 240 in the N^(th) update period is also applicable to anoperation performed by the first estimator 220, the second estimator230, and the third estimator 240 in the (N+1)^(th) update period and areincorporated herein by reference. Thus, the above description may not berepeated here.

FIGS. 7 through 10 illustrate examples of a switching order.

The third estimator 240 selects one of remaining batteries as a targetbattery for each of switching periods based on a switching order of theremaining batteries.

In an example, a switching order is an order of identificationinformation of the remaining batteries. Referring to FIG. 7 , in anexample, in a 1^(st) switching period of an N^(th) update period, thethird estimator 240 selects a battery 2 having smallest identificationinformation from batteries 2, 3, 4 and 6 through 12 other than batteries1 and 5 as a target battery of the 1^(st) switching period. In anexample, in a 2^(nd) switching period, the third estimator 240 selectsthe battery 3 having smallest identification information from thebatteries 3, 4 and 6 through 12 as a target battery of the 2^(nd)switching period. The third estimator 240 switches the target batteryfrom the battery 2 to the battery 3 in the 2^(nd) switching period. Inan example, in a last switching period, the third estimator 240 selectsthe battery 12 as a target battery of the last switching period. Inanother example, the third estimator 240 selects the battery 12 havinggreatest identification information from the remaining batteries as thetarget battery of the 1^(st) switching period. In this example, thethird estimator 240 selects the battery 2 as the target battery of thelast switching period.

In an example, a switching order is an order of final state informationof remaining batteries for a previous update period. Referring to FIG. 8, in the 1^(st) switching period of the N^(th) update period, the thirdestimator 240 selects the battery 3 having greatest final stateinformation in an (N−1)^(th) update period from the batteries 2, 3, 4and 6 through 12 other than the batteries 1 and 5 as a target battery ofthe 1^(st) switching period. In the 2^(nd) switching period, the thirdestimator 240 selects the battery 4 having greatest final stateinformation from the batteries 2, 4 and 6 through 12 as a target batteryof the 2^(nd) switching period. Also, in the last switching period, thethird estimator 240 selects the battery 7 as a target battery of thelast switching period. In another an example, the third estimator 240selects the battery 7 having smallest final state information in the(N−1)^(th) update period from the remaining batteries as the targetbattery of the 1^(st) switching period. In this example, the thirdestimator 240 selects the battery 3 in the last switching period as thetarget battery of the last switching period.

In an example, the third estimator 240 switches target batteries in avoltage order of remaining batteries. The third estimator 240 receivesvoltage data of the remaining batteries from the selector 210. The thirdestimator 240 switches target batteries during the N^(th) update periodin an ascending or descending order of voltages of the remainingbatteries.

In an example, the third estimator 240 randomly switches targetbatteries.

When final state information of the batteries 110-1 through 110-n isdetermined in the N^(th) update period, the comparator 250 determines amaximum battery and/or a minimum battery again based on the determinedfinal state information. Also, the comparator 250 determines a switchingorder for an (N+1)^(th) update period based on the aforementionedexamples.

In an example, during an (N+1)^(th) update period, the third estimator240 switches target batteries among remaining batteries in a reverseorder of a switching order of an N^(th) update period. Referring to FIG.9 , when target batteries are switched during an N^(th) update periodbased on the switching order as illustrated in FIG. 7 , the thirdestimator 240 switches target batteries in a reverse order of theswitching order during an (N+1)^(th) update period. For example, in a1^(st) switching period of the (N+1)^(th) update period, the thirdestimator 240 selects the battery 12 as a target battery of the 1^(st)switching period from the remaining batteries except for the batteries 1and 5 among the batteries 1 through 12, and switches a target batteryfrom the batter 12 to the battery 11 in a 2^(nd) switching period of the(N+1)^(th) update period. Also, the third estimator 240 switches atarget battery from the battery 3 to the battery 2 in a last switchingperiod of the (N+1)^(th) update period.

Referring to FIG. 10 , when target batteries are switched during theN^(th) update period based on the switching order as illustrated in FIG.8 , the third estimator 240 selects the battery 7 as a target battery ofthe 1^(st) switching period of the (N+1)^(th) update period, from theremaining batteries except for the batteries 1 and 5 among the batteries1 through 12, and switches a target battery from the battery 7 to thebattery 10 in the 2^(nd) switching period of the (N+1)^(th) updateperiod. Also, the third estimator 240 switches a target battery from thebattery 4 to the battery 3 in the last switching period of the(N+1)^(th) update period.

The update period for the maximum battery and/or the minimum battery inthe examples described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 may differ fromthe update period for the maximum battery and/or the minimum battery inthe examples described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 . The updateperiod may be N in the examples of FIGS. 7 and 8 and the update periodmay be 2N in the examples of FIGS. 9 and 10 .

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a battery state estimation method. Theoperations in FIG. 11 may be performed in the sequence and manner asshown, although the order of some operations may be changed or some ofthe operations omitted without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe illustrative examples described. Many of the operations shown inFIG. 11 may be performed in parallel or concurrently. One or more blocksof FIG. 11 , and combinations of the blocks, can be implemented byspecial purpose hardware-based computer that perform the specifiedfunctions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions. In addition to the description of FIG. 11 below, thedescriptions of FIGS. 1-10 are also applicable to FIG. 11 , and areincorporated herein by reference. Thus, the above description may not berepeated here.

A battery state estimation method is performed by the battery stateestimation apparatus 120.

Referring to FIG. 11 , in operation 1110, the battery state estimationapparatus 120 selects sensing data of a portion of the batteries 110-1through 110-n, transmits the selected sensing data to at least oneestimator, for example, the first estimator 220 and the second estimator230 among the first estimator 220, the second estimator 230, and thethird estimator 240. The battery state estimation apparatus 120transmits sensing data of a remaining portion of the batteries 110-1through 110-n to a remaining estimator, for example, the third estimator240. In an example, the batteries may correspond to one or more of thebatteries, such as, for example, batteries 1 and 5 of the N^(th) updateperiod as described with reference to FIGS. 3 through 10 . In anexample, the remaining portion of the batteries 110-1 through 110-n maycorrespond to the batteries 2 through 4 and 6 through 12, among thebatteries 1 through 12 other than the batteries 1 and 5.

In operation 1120, the battery state estimation apparatus 120 determinesstate information of the batteries 110-1 through 110-n using the firstestimator 220, the second estimator 230, and the third estimator 240.The battery state estimation apparatus 120 determines state informationof the portion using the first estimator 220 and the second estimator230 based on the sensing data of the portion. The battery stateestimation apparatus 120 determines state information of a targetbattery for each of switching periods using the third estimator 240based on sensing data of the target battery of the correspondingswitching period. Also, the battery state estimation apparatus 120determines state information of a non-target battery for each of theswitching periods using the third estimator 240 based on stateinformation of the non-target battery for a previous switching periodand a state change amount of the non-target battery for thecorresponding switching period.

The battery state estimation apparatus 120 determines a maximum value ora minimum value of the determined state information of the batteries110-1 through 110-n to be state information of a battery set includingthe batteries 110-1 through 110-n. For example, when state informationof batter cells included in a battery pack is determined, the batterystate estimation apparatus 120 determines a maximum value or a minimumvalue of the determined state information of the battery cells to bestate information of the battery pack.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a battery state estimation apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 12 , the battery state estimation apparatus 120includes a memory 1210 and a controller 1220.

The controller 1220 is coupled with the memory 1210. In an example, thecontroller 1220 implements the selector 210, the first estimator 220,the second estimator 230, the third estimator 240, and the comparator250. Further details of the controller 1220 and the memory 1210 areprovided below.

The battery state estimation apparatus 120 estimates an SOC of each ofthe batteries 110-1 through 110-n based on the above-described methods,thereby obtaining a more accurate estimation result and reducing acalculation time when compared to an existing SOC estimation scheme, forexample, an estimation scheme using an SOC-OCV look-up table.

The description of FIGS. 1 through 11 is also applicable to FIG. 12 ,and are incorporated herein by reference. Thus, the above descriptionmay not be repeated here.

The battery state estimation apparatus 120 is included in variousapparatuses, such as, for example, a vehicle, a walking assistancedevice, a wearable device, a security device, a robot, a mobileterminal, and various Internet of Things (IoT) devices that use thebatteries as a power source. The battery state estimation apparatus 120performs the operations described with reference to FIG. 1 through 12 .The vehicle described herein refers to any mode of transportation,delivery, or communication such as, for example, an automobile, a truck,a tractor, a scooter, a motorcycle, a cycle, an amphibious vehicle, asnowmobile, a boat, a public transit vehicle, a bus, a monorail, atrain, a tram, an autonomous or automated driving vehicle, anintelligent vehicle, a self-driving vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle,an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid vehicle, or a drone.

Hereinafter, examples of the battery state estimation apparatus 120included in a vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. 13 . Thefollowing description is also applicable to the battery state estimationapparatus 120 being disposed in other apparatuses, in addition to thevehicle.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 13 , a vehicle 1300 includes a battery pack 1310, abattery management system 1320, and a display 1330. The vehicle 1300uses the battery pack 1310 including battery cells as a power source.The vehicle 1300 is, for example, an electric vehicle or a hybridvehicle.

The battery management system 1320 monitors whether an abnormalityoccurs in the battery pack 1310 and prevents the battery pack 1310 frombeing overcharged or over-discharged. The battery management system 1320performs a thermal control on the battery pack 1310 when a temperatureof the battery pack 1310 is higher than a first temperature, forexample, 40° C. or is lower than a second temperature, for example, −10°C. The battery management system 1320 performs a cell balancing suchthat states of charge of battery cells in the battery pack 1310 areequalized.

The battery management system 1310 performs a similar operation to thatof the battery state estimation apparatus 120 to determine stateinformation of the battery cells in the battery pack 1310. Thedescription of FIGS. 1 through 12 is also applicable to the batterymanagement system 1320 determining the state information of the batterycells. The description of FIGS. 1 through 12 , and are incorporatedherein by reference. Thus, the above description may not be repeatedhere.

The battery management system 1320 determines a maximum value or aminimum value of state information of the batteries cells to be stateinformation of the battery pack 1310. The battery management system 1320transmits the state information of the battery pack 1310 to anelectronic control unit (ECU) or a vehicle control unit (VCU) of thevehicle 1300. The ECU or the VCU displays the state information of thebattery pack 1310 on a display 1330 of the vehicle 1300. In an example,the display 1330 is a physical structure that includes one or morehardware components that provide the ability to render a user interfaceand/or receive user input. In an example, the state information of thebattery pack 1310 is displayed on a wind shield glass or a separatescreen of the vehicle using a head-up display (HUD) or is displayed onan augmented reality head-up display (AR HUD). However, the displayingof the object is not limited to the example described above, and anyother instrument cluster, vehicular infotainment system, screen in thevehicle, or display panel in the vehicle may perform the displayfunction. Other displays, such as, for example, smart phone and eyeglass display (EGD) that are operatively connected to the batterymanagement system 1320 may be used without departing from the spirit andscope of the illustrative examples described.

In an example, the battery state estimation apparatus 120 uses threebattery models to sequentially estimate SOCs of all battery cells,thereby overcoming an inaccuracy of a voltage-based SOC estimationmethod and reducing time to calculate the SOC.

The battery state estimation apparatus 120, selector 210, firstestimator 220, second estimator 230, third estimator 240, batterymanagement system 1320, and other apparatuses, units, modules, devices,and other components described herein are implemented by hardwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components that may be used to performthe operations described in this application where appropriate includecontrollers, sensors, generators, drivers, memories, comparators,arithmetic logic units, adders, subtractors, multipliers, dividers,integrators, and any other electronic components configured to performthe operations described in this application. In other examples, one ormore of the hardware components that perform the operations described inthis application are implemented by computing hardware, for example, byone or more processors or computers. A processor or computer may beimplemented by one or more processing elements, such as an array oflogic gates, a controller and an arithmetic logic unit, a digital signalprocessor, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller, afield-programmable gate array, a programmable logic array, amicroprocessor, or any other device or combination of devices that isconfigured to respond to and execute instructions in a defined manner toachieve a desired result. In one example, a processor or computerincludes, or is connected to, one or more memories storing instructionsor software that are executed by the processor or computer. Hardwarecomponents implemented by a processor or computer may executeinstructions or software, such as an operating system (OS) and one ormore software applications that run on the OS, to perform the operationsdescribed in this application. The hardware components may also access,manipulate, process, create, and store data in response to execution ofthe instructions or software. For simplicity, the singular term“processor” or “computer” may be used in the description of the examplesdescribed in this application, but in other examples multiple processorsor computers may be used, or a processor or computer may includemultiple processing elements, or multiple types of processing elements,or both. For example, a single hardware component or two or morehardware components may be implemented by a single processor, or two ormore processors, or a processor and a controller. One or more hardwarecomponents may be implemented by one or more processors, or a processorand a controller, and one or more other hardware components may beimplemented by one or more other processors, or another processor andanother controller. One or more processors, or a processor and acontroller, may implement a single hardware component, or two or morehardware components. A hardware component may have any one or more ofdifferent processing configurations, examples of which include a singleprocessor, independent processors, parallel processors,single-instruction single-data (SISD) multiprocessing,single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) multiprocessing,multiple-instruction single-data (MISD) multiprocessing, andmultiple-instruction multiple-data (MIMD) multiprocessing.

The methods that perform the operations described in this applicationare performed by computing hardware, for example, by one or moreprocessors or computers, implemented as described above executinginstructions or software to perform the operations described in thisapplication that are performed by the methods. For example, a singleoperation or two or more operations may be performed by a singleprocessor, or two or more processors, or a processor and a controller.One or more operations may be performed by one or more processors, or aprocessor and a controller, and one or more other operations may beperformed by one or more other processors, or another processor andanother controller. One or more processors, or a processor and acontroller, may perform a single operation, or two or more operations.

Instructions or software to control a processor or computer to implementthe hardware components and perform the methods as described above arewritten as computer programs, code segments, instructions or anycombination thereof, for individually or collectively instructing orconfiguring the processor or computer to operate as a machine orspecial-purpose computer to perform the operations performed by thehardware components and the methods as described above. In an example,the instructions or software includes at least one of an applet, adynamic link library (DLL), middleware, firmware, a device driver, anapplication program storing the method of preventing the collision. Inone example, the instructions or software include machine code that isdirectly executed by the processor or computer, such as machine codeproduced by a compiler. In another example, the instructions or softwareinclude higher-level code that is executed by the processor or computerusing an interpreter. Programmers of ordinary skill in the art canreadily write the instructions or software based on the block diagramsand the flow charts illustrated in the drawings and the correspondingdescriptions in the specification, which disclose algorithms forperforming the operations performed by the hardware components and themethods as described above.

The instructions or software to control computing hardware, for example,one or more processors or computers, to implement the hardwarecomponents and perform the methods as described above, and anyassociated data, data files, and data structures, may be recorded,stored, or fixed in or on one or more non-transitory computer-readablestorage media. Examples of a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access programmable readonly memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory(EEPROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory(DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), flash memory, non-volatilememory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD+Rs, CD-RWs, CD+RWs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs,DVD-RWs, DVD+RWs, DVD-RAMs, BD-ROMs, BD-Rs, BD-R LTHs, BD-REs, blue-rayor optical disk storage, hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD),flash memory, a card type memory such as multimedia card micro or a card(for example, secure digital (SD) or extreme digital (XD)), magnetictapes, floppy disks, magneto-optical data storage devices, optical datastorage devices, hard disks, solid-state disks, and any other devicethat is configured to store the instructions or software and anyassociated data, data files, and data structures in a non-transitorymanner and providing the instructions or software and any associateddata, data files, and data structures to a processor or computer so thatthe processor or computer can execute the instructions. Examples of anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium include read-only memory(ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD+Rs, CD-RWs,CD+RWs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD-RWs, DVD+RWs, DVD-RAMs, BD-ROMs,BD-Rs, BD-R LTHs, BD-REs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, magneto-opticaldata storage devices, optical data storage devices, hard disks,solid-state disks, and any other device that is configured to store theinstructions or software and any associated data, data files, and datastructures in a non-transitory manner and provide the instructions orsoftware and any associated data, data files, and data structures to oneor more processors or computers so that the one or more processors orcomputers can execute the instructions. In one example, the instructionsor software and any associated data, data files, and data structures aredistributed over network-coupled computer systems so that theinstructions and software and any associated data, data files, and datastructures are stored, accessed, and executed in a distributed fashionby the one or more processors or computers.

While this disclosure includes specific examples, it will be apparentafter an understanding of the disclosure of this application thatvarious changes in form and details may be made in these exampleswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and theirequivalents. The examples described herein are to be considered in adescriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptionsof features or aspects in each example are to be considered as beingapplicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitableresults may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in adifferent order, and/or if components in a described system,architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner,and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or theirequivalents. Therefore, the scope of the disclosure is defined not bythe detailed description, but by the claims and their equivalents, andall variations within the scope of the claims and their equivalents areto be construed as being included in the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for estimating a state of a battery,the apparatus comprising: a sensor configured to sense datacorresponding to batteries of a battery pack in an update period; ahead-up display (HUD); and a processor comprising: a comparatorconfigured to determine, in another update period prior to the updateperiod, a maximum battery of the batteries having a maximum stateinformation and a minimum battery of the batteries having a minimumstate information, a selector configured to selectively transmit thedata corresponding to each battery of the battery pack to a plurality ofestimators, a first estimator of the plurality of estimators beingconfigured to determine state information of the maximum battery basedon sensing data of the maximum battery and a first battery model, asecond estimator of the plurality of estimators being configured todetermine state information of the minimum battery based on sensing dataof the minimum battery and a second battery model, a third estimator ofthe plurality of estimators being configured to select, in a switchingperiod of the update period, a target battery from remaining batteries,the remaining batteries being the batteries other than the maximumbattery and the maximum battery, determine, in the switching period,state information of the target battery based on sensing data of thetarget battery and a third battery model, and determine, in theswitching period, state information of the remaining batteries otherthan the target battery based on state information of the remainingbatteries other than the target battery for another switching periodthat is prior to the switching period and a state change amount, whereinthe processor is configured to output the state information of themaximum battery, the state information of the minimum battery, the stateinformation of the maximum battery, and the state information ofremaining batteries through the head-up display (HUD).
 2. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the state change amount comprises any one, anycombination, or an average of a state change amount obtained through acoulomb counting for the switching period, a state change amount of themaximum battery for the switching period, and a state change amount ofthe minimum battery for the switching period.
 3. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the third estimator is further configured to select, otherthan the target battery, another target battery from the remainingbatteries in other switching periods of the update periods.